What is it that matters most in life? Is it what you do, who you are, how you are, what you create, what you know, how much stuff you have? The older I get the more I believe that what matters most is
Simply Being Here,
being present, open, and aware. When I began choosing to see beauty through the lens of my camera, I began to regularly experience wonder, awe, and joy. The more I looked the more beauty I saw and the more wonder, awe, and joy I experienced.
Living life as an artist is a practice.
You are either engaging in the practice
or you’re not.It makes no sense to say you’re not good at it.
It’s like saying, “I’m not good at being a monk.”
You are either living as a monk or you’re not.We tend to think of the artist’s work as the output.
The real work of the artist
is a way of being in the world.
― The Creative Act: A Way of Being
My practice of making photographs changed me and changed my life. There is an interplay between freedom and discipline. If I work too hard I lose my enthusiasm and if I play too much I don’t get anything done. The creative process contains different stages, some filled with exploration and play and others filled with more discipline and work.
Every step of the creative process matters.
The act of creation is an attempt to enter a mysterious realm. A longing to transcend. What we create allows us to share glimpses of an inner landscape, one that is beyond our understanding. Art is our portal to the unseen world.
― The Creative Act: A Way of Being
The Value of Creative Projects
Working on the photo book that I have been working on for some time is changing me. I am learning about how the human condition interacts with the creative process. I push up against my edges and limitations. Sometimes I change directions to accommodate them. Other times I decide to work hard to transcend those limitations through learning and practice.
This is why I think it is important to do projects in your creative practice. Projects force us to go through more stages in the creative process. They help us grow.
Thoughts and habits not conducive to the work: Believing you’re not good enough. Feeling you don’t have the energy it takes. Mistaking adopted rules for absolute truths. Not wanting to do the work (laziness). Not taking the work to its highest expression (settling). Having goals so ambitious that you can’t begin. Thinking you can only do your best work in certain conditions. Requiring specific tools or equipment to do the work. Abandoning a project as soon as it gets difficult. Feeling like you need permission to start or move forward. Letting a perceived need for funding, equipment, or support get in the way. Having too many ideas and not knowing where to start. Never finishing projects. Blaming circumstances or other people for interfering with your process. Romanticizing negative behaviors or addictions. Believing a certain mood or state is necessary to do your best work. Prioritizing other activities and responsibilities over your commitment to making art. Distractibility and procrastination. Impatience. Thinking anything that’s out of your control is in your way.
― The Creative Act: A Way of Being
I’m not done creating this photo/essay book that I’m working on. In fact I’m a long way from being done. (I am guessing that by the time I finish creating this book you will be very tired of hearing about it in this blog.) But already I’ve learned so much. And even when I get discouraged because it’s so “hard” I am learning, exploring and playing.
What matters most to you? Is it simply being here, being open and present? Or something else?
May you walk in beauty.
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